Confined
by csiAngel
Summary: GC The team is quarantined together now complete!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer - The characters of CSI belong to the show's producers etc, not to me.  
  
Confined  
  
Grissom placed three cards face down on the small pile in the centre of the table, proclaiming "three sevens" as he did so.  
  
"Cheat!" Catherine called, almost immediately.  
  
Grissom looked at her, raising an eyebrow and allowing a small teasing smile to creep onto his face. "You seem pretty sure."  
  
"That's because I am pretty sure," she returned, confidently, "Would you like to do the honours or should I?"  
  
Grissom matched her look of confidence. "Oh, by all means," he grinned, smugly, meeting her eyes with his. He loved the sparkle he saw when she thought she was about to prove him wrong, but, more than that, he loved watching it fade away. The glare she would give him made her look so sexy, and his heart was racing now in anticipation of that look.  
  
Catherine smiled to herself on seeing the excitement in Grissom's eyes. Her heart fluttered at the thought of being able to tease him about this for a long time. She was right, and he wouldn't like it. Oh, the fun she could have.  
  
For seconds, neither of them had moved. They had been sitting in silence, gazing at each other, seeming to have forgotten that they were in the middle of a game, and that there were other people in the room.  
  
"Will somebody just look at the cards?" Nick exclaimed. Grissom and Catherine had managed to keep themselves entertained all morning, however their flirting, giggling and sexual tension filled silences were not as much fun for the rest of them.  
  
"Hey!" Catherine said, just about managing to tear herself away from Grissom's captivating, blue eyes, and turning to Nick, "The crabbiness stops now! We are never gonna get through this if we stop being nice!"  
  
"Are we gonna limit how nice?" Nick muttered under his breath.  
  
Catherine heard him and responded whilst once again looking at Grissom. "Oh, I don't think we need to do that," she grinned, as she fell into another of those moments that Nick hated.  
  
The next couple of minutes were filled with eye-rolling and sighing from Nick, and giggling and smirking from Warrick and Sara who thought the whole situation was very amusing. But, seeing the rage building in Nick's face, Warrick thought it was best to break this up as soon as possible.  
  
"So, Grissom's a cheat is he?" he reintroduced the subject, successfully drawing the two senior CSIs from their distraction.  
  
"According to Catherine," Grissom commented, maintaining his conceited look.  
  
"And you know I'm right," she grinned.  
  
"Then turn the cards," he said, with a tone that made it sound like he was daring her to do it.  
  
"With pleasure," she replied slowly, leaning forward, and turning the top card.  
  
A seven. She frowned. Grissom smirked. Warrick and Sara looked from one to the other, then to each other, and smiled. Nick sighed.  
  
She turned the next card. Another seven. Grissom's eyes lit up as he saw Catherine's smile completely vanish, replaced by a look of confusion.  
  
"Erm, I don't think we should continue this game," she said upon seeing the card.  
  
"We're not gonna stop just because you're losing, Cath. You shouldn't be so quick to doubt our honesty," Grissom responded with great pleasure.  
  
"That's not why we should -" she tried to explain, but was cut off, by a very relaxed Grissom, leaning back contentedly in his chair.  
  
"Yeah, yeah!"  
  
She glared at him playfully. "You might wanna lose the smirk, boss."  
  
Grissom retained his smile. In fact he widened it, in the enjoyment of the look she had just given him.  
  
"You see, you might have put three sevens down," she began, turning over his third card, "but I have two," she placed the cards on the table as she spoke of them, "And Warrick has one - "  
  
"Hey! How do you know that?" Warrick interrupted.  
  
"You keep turning round and flashing your cards at me," she explained, while Grissom leant forward and examined the cards, a look of puzzlement creeping over his features.  
  
"Am so glad that's all he's flashing," Nick added, still as bored and grumpy as earlier.  
  
"There's still time, Nick," Catherine said, eyes wide, and smiling at Warrick, who looked stunned as she let her eyes wander down the part of his body she could see, an impressed sigh being released when she returned to his face. She wiggled her eyebrows at him, and they both laughed.  
  
Nick rolled his eyes. "This is gonna be the worst day of my life!"  
  
"So there are six sevens in this pack?" Grissom mused.  
  
"Seven," Sara offered, "I have one too."  
  
"I said we should have checked the pack before we started," Nick sighed, angrily.  
  
"Why would there be seven sevens?" Grissom asked, seemingly quite disturbed at the thought that someone would keep an incorrect pack of cards in the break room.  
  
"Are you sure you didn't stick two of them in the fridge with some oysters and champagne to see if they'd mate?" Nick snapped, his outburst amusing the three uninvolved CSIs who tried, in vain, to conceal their laughter.  
  
Grissom was bemused. "What?"  
  
"You and your stupid experiments! It wouldn't surprise me if it was one of them that got us into this situation in the first place!"  
  
Warrick and Catherine were both about to intervene, when Grissom responded. "Is there a reason that you're in such a bad mood?"  
  
"You mean apart from the fact that I am stuck in here with you lot for God knows how long?" he shouted.  
  
"Gee, thanks, Nick," Sara said, starting to be irritated by Nick's behaviour.  
  
"Why are you so bothered by this? Did you have something important to do?" Grissom asked him.  
  
"Yes. I know that may be hard for you to understand - "  
  
Catherine could see where this was going, and it wasn't particularly funny any more. "Nick!"  
  
He just carried on. ". given that you don't have a life! - "  
  
"Nick!" This time she raised her voice and Nick turned to her. "As you've said, we don't know how long we're gonna be in here, it really isn't a good idea for us to start fighting. I suggest you go over there and calm down.. We all had plans for today that did not include quarantine, but we can't do anything about it. Taking it out on each other isn't going to help."  
  
Nick nodded. "Sorry."  
  
Her expression told him that it wasn't her that he needed to apologise to. He looked back to Grissom and repeated his apology.  
  
"It's okay," Grissom nodded, with a small smile, that was convincing enough that Nick believed him. Catherine, however, couldn't be fooled that easily. She knew what Nick had said would have bothered him.  
  
He caught her watching him, so she smiled, and he, lamely, smiled back. 'It's gonna be a long day' she thought.  
  
******  
  
"Perhaps someone plans to do that experiment with us," Warrick said to break the silence that had fallen over the group.  
  
"Well, I wish they'd hurry up with the champagne," Sara said, her boredom evident in her voice.  
  
"Eager to get to the mating are you?" Warrick joked.  
  
"Beats this," Sara replied.  
  
Warrick was shocked by her response. He had intended to embarrass her. Sara smiled at the look on his face. "I'm used to your comments now. It'll take a lot more than that to make me blush."  
  
Warrick felt a challenge coming on. "I bet I can embarrass you before we get out of here."  
  
"You're on. I wouldn't get your hopes up though."  
  
"Well, my money would be on Warrick succeeding," Nick joined in, from his new position on the sofa, a hint of enthusiasm evident in his voice for the first time that day.  
  
Catherine smiled at the scene unfolding before her, as Warrick and Sara joined Nick, and were chattering about how much they should bet. "I would bet that Sara can make Warrick blush," she offered.  
  
Sara smiled to her, appreciatively, whilst Warrick gave her a 'yeah, right' look. She shrugged in response, and, when the two turned back to Nick, she changed chairs, to be sitting beside Grissom.  
  
"He didn't mean it," she said, softly.  
  
"I know," he nodded. "I'm fine."  
  
"Ah! That's why you haven't spoken for the last ten minutes?" she said, with a comforting smile.  
  
"That's a bit of an exaggeration, Cath," he remarked.  
  
"A very small bit," she agreed. "Do you wanna talk about it?"  
  
He shook his head slowly, and she nodded understandingly.  
  
TBC. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer - see chapter one  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Catherine's head almost fell off her hand as her eyes slid closed. This was the third time it had happened, tiredness was overcoming her. There was an air of tension in the room after Nick's outburst, and everyone had been rather quiet as a result. Occasionally one of the others had made a comment about their bets, but the conversation wouldn't last long and now they had all allowed themselves to rest. The silent friction was leaving little to do and a day without sleep was finally catching up with her. But each time she was close to drifting off she was disturbed by Grissom fidgeting beside her. This time he sighed agitatedly and stood up to begin pacing the room, like a caged animal.  
  
She forced her eyes open and shook the sleep from her body.  
  
"Gil?"  
  
He didn't say anything, he just continued pacing. Catherine stood up and placed herself in his path.  
  
"Gil! Talk to me," she asked softly.  
  
He stopped in front of her, but still didn't speak.  
  
"They'll let us out of here as soon as they can," she tried.  
  
"Good. Then I can go get a life," he spattered.  
  
"Ah, so you're not fine?" she smiled sympathetically. "Who'd have guessed?"  
  
Grissom gave a small smile at her comment.  
  
"Nick. didn't mean to be callous. He had a date today. That's why he was so snappy."  
  
"He was right, though," Grissom said, with more a tone of anger than sadness.  
  
Catherine shook her head. "No he wasn't - "  
  
"He's not the first person to have said it," he smiled gently.  
  
"That's how I know," she smiled, knowing that she had been the other person. "Warrick and Nick come to work to work. Yes, they're good at their jobs, but they're jobs to them. You, you live your work. You put all of yourself into solving each case, and that's why we're the number two crime lab in the country. If you had another focus in life, we'd be down the bottom of the list."  
  
Grissom frowned. "I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to take that as a compliment or not," he laughed.  
  
"Yes you are," she smiled. "I know that we are your life, Gil, and the others will come to see that. Nick didn't make that comment because he looks down on you for not having many interests that aren't work related. It doesn't make him respect you any less. He said it because he doesn't understand it. They all aspire to be like you, but you're a mystery to them. They're trying to figure you out."  
  
"That's an interesting theory but - "  
  
"When you signed to Professor Gilbert, they told me about it. Surprise written all over their faces. Surprise and awe. You're a puzzlement. They're CSIs. It annoys them that they can't solve you. That is the root of that anger, not that they disrespect you or think you're a joke."  
  
"I didn't - "  
  
"But you were thinking it," she interrupted him.  
  
He was about to respond when the door opened and a man in a biohazard suit entered carrying a tray of take-out.  
  
"Excellent!" Catherine exclaimed taking the tray from him and thanking him as he left the room, closing the door behind him.  
  
The smell of food must have stirred Warrick from his sleep because he was quickly standing beside Catherine at the table.  
  
"Chinese. Excellent," he said, his hunger evident in his tone.  
  
"We should wake the others," Catherine said, swatting Warrick's hand playfully as he started to root through the boxes, nibbling samples of each item as he went.  
  
"I suppose that's only fair," he mumbled turning to the sofas. "Nick! Sara!" he shouted, causing both Grissom and Catherine to jump out of their skin.  
  
Grissom creased his brow. "Next time, you wake them," he said to Catherine, who nodded in agreement.  
  
Nick and Sara gradually opened their eyes and returned to the conscious world.  
  
"Ooh, food!" Nick exclaimed excitedly as the smell hit his senses.  
  
"I hope it's meat free," Sara commented moving to join the others.  
  
They all took a seat round the table and set to work on the food as if they hadn't eaten for days. For the first few minutes they were all so occupied in quashing their hunger that they ate in silence. Then, as they began to feel the effects of the nourishment they found their speech faculties again.  
  
"So, Sara, what were you dreaming about?" Warrick asked, intriguing the others with his choice of topic.  
  
Sara frowned. "What kind of question is that?"  
  
"Well you seemed to be enjoying it," he smiled.  
  
Nick realised what he was doing. "Yeah, who's Joe?"  
  
"Joe?" Sara asked with further confusion. "I don't think I know anyone called Joe."  
  
"Well, in your dream you knew him pretty well," Warrick smirked.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Sara queried.  
  
"You moaned his name, quite a few times," Nick laughed.  
  
Grissom and Catherine looked at each other and smiled. They knew the truth, but they agreed to leave them to it. Sara could look after herself.  
  
"Really?" Sara asked, not at all phased by their remarks and, much to Warrick's dismay, not blushing.  
  
"Yeah. Kept the rest of us awake. It was rather uncomfortable actually," Warrick continued his scheme.  
  
"Yeah. I don't think you should be allowed to go to sleep again while we're in here," Nick added.  
  
"We shouldn't have to put up with you squirming and groaning right next to us. It's distracting. Just the thought of it is putting me off my food," he grumbled, pushing his carton away from him slightly.  
  
"So, who's Joe?" Nick repeated.  
  
"You know there is no Joe, guys," Sara responded.  
  
"Well, then it's a more disturbing dream than I originally thought," Warrick smirked.  
  
"I really don't know where you've got Joe from. I was dreaming about you," Sara smiled seductively to Warrick.  
  
All other eyes in the room shot to Warrick's face and studied him intently.  
  
"Close," Catherine said, disappointed, turning to Sara, who nodded.  
  
Warrick and Nick shook their heads at Catherine and Sara's smiling faces, and turned their attention to their food.  
  
TBC 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer - see chapter one  
  
Chapter 3  
  
"Catherine, move out of my way!" Grissom ordered, standing just over a foot in front of her, determined to get through the door against which she was leaning.  
  
"You're not going anywhere," she responded, shaking her head defiantly. "Our instructions are to stay in this room. I'm not letting you out."  
  
"This is ridiculous!" He now shouted, angrily. "We've been in here for over twelve hours!"  
  
Catherine nodded, nonchalantly. "I'm aware of that. What's your point?"  
  
"What's my point?!" he snapped, stepping closer to her. "They're keeping us in here for no reason!"  
  
"They're awaiting test results. These things take time, you know that," Catherine said, remaining calm, and thus infuriating Grissom even more. "As soon as they know whether what Greg has is contagious, they'll either let us go or treat us - if they can."  
  
"Surely we'd be showing some sign of it by now?"  
  
"Maybe you are. Perhaps sudden irrational anger is a symptom? First Nick, now you," she suggested.  
  
"This is not irrational. There is no need for us to be locked in here. They've got the lab itself blocked off."  
  
"You are being irrational. You know the arrangement. We're in groups of people who saw Greg together. You should just feel lucky that Ecklie wasn't eating lunch with us. You think this is bad, imagine how the dayshift feels, stuck in the locker room with him. And," she continued before he had chance to respond, "do you really want to go out there and potentially infect other people? Could you live with that?"  
  
"I just want to go to my office," Grissom said, apparently ignoring everything she had just said.  
  
"You can't," Catherine began, immediately wishing she hadn't because she knew how he was going to react to the rest of the sentence.  
  
"Why?" he asked impatiently.  
  
"There are people in there. Lab technicians," she replied, whilst mentally preparing herself to face his response confidently.  
  
"What? In my office?!" he yelled, his hand flying past her to reach for the door handle.  
  
"So you definitely can't go in there," she exclaimed, stepping across to place herself between his hand and the handle. "So where would you go?"  
  
When his hand hit her shoulder instead of its desired destination, he gave her an intense glare, designed to tell her that she was just making his anger worse and if she had any sense she should move away from the door.  
  
The look on her face told him that his glare was unsuccessful, the stubborn glint in her eyes indicating that she wasn't going to back down, and the raised eyebrows daring him to take her on, warning him that he would lose.  
  
Any other time, he might have given in, but now, for some reason, he felt like fighting. Whether it was his anger at their situation, adrenaline from their earlier flirtations or desire rising from their proximity, he didn't know, and he didn't care. He was filled with the passion to stand his ground, and fight.  
  
"If you don't move, I'll have to move you," he said sternly.  
  
She raised her eyebrows higher, as if asking how he planned to do that.  
  
***  
  
The younger three CSIs looked to each other, finding that they had all been enthralled in the battle. Sara looked concerned, and her nod towards Grissom and Catherine asked if they should do something.  
  
Warrick shook his head, understanding that nothing serious would happen so there was no harm in letting them continue. After all, there wasn't much else to do. He did, however, divert his eyes back to the magazine he had been reading, telling the others that they shouldn't be watching.  
  
Nick and Sara followed his lead, and busied themselves reading. All six ears, though, remained tuned to the scene by the door.  
  
***  
  
There was not much to be heard at the moment. Grissom and Catherine were silently staring each other out, each determined that they were not going to back down.  
  
Whilst he was normally a fan of silence, finding it soothing and secure, Grissom was the first to crack. Catherine could have stood like that forever, and this was being flaunted on her face. It was that expression that broke Grissom, who was suddenly unable to contain his irritation.  
  
"Goddamn it, Catherine! Move!" he yelled, inching closer to her in a move she knew was intended to intimidate her. Like that would work.  
  
"No," she said simply, trying not to look too amused. The look on Grissom's face was certainly one of anger, and might have frightened someone else, but she knew him too well. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, and she knew that whatever he tried to move her away, she could probably counteract.  
  
He stepped even closer, eyes strongly fixed on hers and attempting to bore into her. The only affect it did have was to make her heart flutter at feeling his warm body so close to hers.  
  
"Move," he stated, his tone serious, but voice no longer raised.  
  
She shook her head vehemently, aware that if she tried to speak the feeling of nervous excitement, spreading from her stomach throughout her body, would prevent the words from coming out, and that would weaken her position.  
  
He stepped forward again, his body now as close to hers as it could be without being pressed against her. Her heart was racing, and her breathing fought to be allowed to deepen, but she repressed it.  
  
Each time he inhaled, his senses were filled with her scent. The scent that was Catherine, that for years he had longed to lose himself in. He was finding it increasingly difficult to remain focussed on what he was supposed to be doing. The softness of her eyes, and beauty of her face - her smooth, clear skin, deep blue eyes and those sweet red lips, oh, those lips. He shook his head to break free from those thoughts - an action she didn't miss, and the corner of her mouth curled into an intrigued smile.  
  
"Do you think this is funny?" Grissom asked.  
  
Catherine shrugged, and whilst she had rather good control over her lips, her smile still showed in her eyes.  
  
Grissom smirked, raised an eyebrow and placed his hands on Catherine's waist. The touch sent shivers round her body, but she instructed herself to ignore them, knowing she couldn't get lost in the moment. She summoned some will power and attempted speech.  
  
"Just try it!" she said, in a threatening tone.  
  
"Are you gonna move yourself?" he said simply.  
  
"Not likely. So, go on. Pick me up. See how far you get," she challenged.  
  
Grissom eyed her dubiously for a moment, wondering how she could be so confident. She wasn't particularly heavy, he could easily lift her. But she obviously had a defence prepared, he needed something else. He needed to do something she wouldn't expect.  
  
Internally, Catherine grinned victoriously, she could see the confusion in Grissom's face as he realised he wasn't going to be able to move her very easily. She watched as his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed - signs that he was deep in thought. She let out a sigh of mock-impatience, as she broke their eye contact and rolled her eyes, playfully.  
  
Spurred by her contentedness, Grissom stepped closer once more, brushing his body against hers. He felt her tremble as he moved his hands round to her back and pulled her close to him. Her eyes returned to his, open wide in surprise. Her conceited smile was replaced by a look of panic and confusion. His body pressed her harder against the door as he slowly lowered his head towards hers.  
  
This time she couldn't repress any of the feelings stirring within her. She breathed slowly and deeply, her breaths shaking as she released them. Her heart pounded in her chest as if it was trying to break free, and she felt sure it echoed around the silent room.  
  
***  
  
The sudden quietness of their boss and Catherine had once again attracted the visual attention of the others who now sat open-mouthed as they saw Grissom moving in to kiss the woman he had pinned against the door.  
  
***  
  
They both kept their eyes firmly fixed on the other's as the space between them decreased. When his lips were millimetres from hers, she could barely concentrate on controlling her desire to close her eyes and tilt her head towards him invitingly. His warm breath softly tickled her lips, and, subconsciously, her tongue moistened them, in preparation. But she had to remain in control. She knew what he was doing, and she wasn't going to fall for it, so she wondered how far he was going to go.  
  
She could almost feel the softness of his lips when he stopped, hovering his face in the position it had reached.  
  
"You didn't move," he said quietly, unable to speak any louder without the low, huskiness of his voice revealing how aroused he was.  
  
"Then you would get out," she responded, hoping she didn't sound as breathless as she felt. "Did you really think this would work?"  
  
Grissom lingered close to her for a few more seconds, as if deciding whether or not to pull away, then his facial expression dropped, as if he had just been hit by the realisation of what he was doing. He lingered a moment longer, lost in the beauty of her eyes, before clearing his throat, awkwardly, and stepping backwards.  
  
"You can't stay there forever!" he declared, dropping himself onto a chair by the table.  
  
"You wanna bet?" she replied, determination evident in all her features.  
  
He glared at her. When she responded with just a breathtaking smile, she saw his eyes smile, even though he tried to intensify the glare.  
  
TBC 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer - see chapter one  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Forty-five minutes passed and Catherine was still standing in front of the door. Grissom was working on a crossword, occasionally allowing his eyes to wander to Catherine, not particularly bothered about breaking free anymore, but just wanting to look at her. He knew she would think he was planning his escape, and it amused him to see her suddenly become more alert each time he looked at her.  
  
The others had just about managed to recover from the shock of earlier events and were starting to speak again. Catherine hadn't noticed their silence, until she was suddenly aware of its subsidence. She smiled to herself as she recalled what had probably stunned them into this hush, then she looked at them, suspiciously.  
  
"You lot are being very quiet. What are you up to?" she asked, teasingly, in a very mother-like tone.  
  
The three faces adopted guilt and quickly turned to the other two for a viable excuse. Via nods and looks, Sara was nominated to respond, which she did, shakily, after glaring at the cowards of her male co-workers.  
  
"Er. we. well, I was just trying to think of some way to embarrass Warrick," she smiled, innocently.  
  
Warrick and Nick gave her a sarcastic look of thanks then attempted to make their own excuses, much to Catherine's amusement.  
  
"I was just reading," Nick stuttered.  
  
"And I was planning how to make Sara blush," Warrick offered.  
  
"Hey, guys, chill!" Catherine smiled, "I was joking. I know you were watching."  
  
Nick and Sara turned to each other and smirked, whilst Warrick maintained eye contact with Catherine, raising his eyebrows to ask what had happened earlier. Catherine replied with a shrug and a wide grin, and shaking his head, Warrick turned back to Sara and Nick.  
  
"I have an idea, actually," Catherine said, after a few seconds of silence. "A way that Sara could make Warrick blush."  
  
Everyone looked at Catherine.  
  
"Really? Do tell," Sara smiled, excitedly.  
  
"Hey!" Nick protested. "You don't win the bet if you tell her how to do it!"  
  
"That was never stipulated before the bet was made," Sara smirked.  
  
"I didn't realise you girls would cheat," Nick moaned.  
  
"Although," Warrick sighed, "After she kept looking at my cards earlier, we should have known Cath wouldn't play fair."  
  
Catherine grinned superiorly. "Well, now you deserve to be embarrassed. But Sara, you'll have to come over here, else our little runaway here'll be out the door." As she spoke her last words she turned to Grissom who, she had noticed, had been staring at her since she had started speaking with the others.  
  
"Cath, I've come to my senses, I'm not gonna run," he said, angelically.  
  
"Right," she snorted sarcastically.  
  
"You can't tell her what to do!" Nick continued his objection to what was about to happen.  
  
"You were helping Warrick, Nicky," Catherine argued, silencing her opponent with her accurate statement.  
  
"Honestly, I don't want to leave," Grissom said, pulling Catherine's attention back to him.  
  
"You would say that. I'm not stupid!" she replied, with a small laugh.  
  
"But, our plan didn't work," Nick tried, after having the moment to think of a response, "Yours probably will."  
  
"So you admit - " Catherine started to reply to Nick, but was cut off by Grissom speaking to her at the same time.  
  
"Just move away from the door, I - "  
  
Tired of having two conversations simultaneously, Catherine raised her voice slightly, and spoke authoritatively. "Right! Nick, if I want to help Sara, I will. And if you don't pay up, I will be on your back every minute of every day!. And Gil, I'll stand where I like!"  
  
Both men opened their mouths to speak but were not permitted to.  
  
"Our conversations are over! I am now going to speak to Sara, and you won't interrupt!" She turned to Sara and was about to start speaking when she heard Grissom mutter as he returned to his crossword.  
  
"Now who's being irrational?"  
  
She didn't dignify his remark with a verbal response, just a glare to the back of his head, then she turned back to Sara and indicated for her to step closer so she could whisper to her.  
  
Warrick and Nick watched, hoping to figure out what she was saying, but her lips were shielded by Sara and, at first, Sara's facial expression was revealing nothing. Then, after a few seconds, Sara nodded. That still didn't help. A few more seconds later, Sara stepped away from Catherine, her cheeks flushed, and shocked she exclaimed, "I can't do that!"  
  
Catherine shrugged again. "It'd work."  
  
"Damn! We should have bet that Cath would make Sara blush!" Warrick called.  
  
"What did she say?" Nick asked Sara as she walked towards her seat.  
  
"I can't tell you, else it won't work," she replied, sitting down, slightly closer to Warrick than she had been before - Warrick noted curiously.  
  
"But you said you couldn't do it," Nick said.  
  
Sara blushed a little again. "If I can't think of anything else, I might have to."  
  
At this Catherine giggled, prompting Warrick to turn to her with a look of concern creasing his handsome dark face. "What have you told her?"  
  
Catherine smiled innocently, "My lips are sealed."  
  
"Pity they weren't sealed earlier," Warrick quipped, pretending to be unamused.  
  
"Catherine, you are cruel," Grissom contributed, demonstrating that he hadn't been in a world of his own as they might have expected.  
  
"Why, thank you, Gil," she smiled. "Do you want any help with that crossword?"  
  
She walked over to the table and headed for a chair on the far side of him. As she walked behind him, she saw him quietly put down his pen. She pulled out the chair and stepped round to sit down, watching him constantly out of the corner of her eye. As she slowly lowered herself onto the seat, Grissom leapt from his chair and ran for the door.  
  
Catherine sat down and picked up the crossword, ignoring his actions, and withholding a smile.  
  
"Cath! Gris's - " Nick trailed off seeing that Grissom had stopped at the door. The boss turned and looked at Catherine who was filling in one of the answers on the crossword. He smiled his famous half-smile, shook his head and walked back to the table.  
  
"Three down is Buckingham. How could you not know that?" Catherine commented, the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as Grissom sat down beside her.  
  
"I start with the across clues," Grissom replied, his smiling expression focussed on the side of Catherine's face.  
  
She looked up to meet his gaze, a smug, wide radiant smile across her face. "You're still here?" She feigned surprise.  
  
He narrowed his eyes at her then matched the width of her smile, enjoying the playfulness that sparkled in her eyes as they looked deep into his. "Where would I go?" he grinned.  
  
TBC 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer - see chapter one  
  
Chapter 5  
  
"Do we get time to think about it?" Nick asked in response to Catherine's suggestion of something to do.  
  
"Well, yeah, but you should be able to easily remember the best day of your life," Catherine replied.  
  
"But I've never really thought about it before," Nick responded.  
  
"Okay, well you can go last. Think while we go."  
  
"But I can't think - " Warrick started, but was soon finished.  
  
"Come on guys. None of you had a better idea. And this is a good opportunity for us to get to know each other better," Catherine interrupted. "I'll start. The best day of my life was the day I had Lindsey - "  
  
"See, yours is easy," Warrick argued. "Women always think the day they have their first child is the best day of their life. Pick another day."  
  
"She can't pick another day. She can't just change the best day of her life," Sara defended Catherine.  
  
"It's okay, Sara. I'll give the best day of my life before I had Linds, after you lot have had your turn," Catherine offered, thinking it was a reasonable offer.  
  
"But you'll just pick your wedding day," Nick commented. "That's the other day women always pick."  
  
"My wedding day? I don't think so. That comes closer to the worst day of my life category," Catherine laughed.  
  
"But is that not just in hindsight? Because you know it ended badly?" Nick asked. "At the time you probably - "  
  
"At the time I thought it was a disaster. I should have taken it as a sign. But I believed that as long as I was marrying the guy I loved, it didn't matter how many things went wrong. Next time I won't be so naïve. First hint of trouble and I'll be out of there."  
  
"Next time?" Warrick smiled. "You plan to marry again?"  
  
"Maybe. I've never ruled it out. Now we seem to be digressing into my life story, I want to hear something about you. If you all share, I promise I'll try to think of another day, unrelated to marriage or motherhood," she said, knowing exactly which day she would ordinarily choose, but not sure whether she wanted to reveal it to these people, one in particular.  
  
"Okay. I'll go next," Sara offered. "The best day of my life was the day I got accepted to college. I was so happy. ecstatic. I couldn't wait to get there. My mates and I had this huge party to celebrate. It was brilliant."  
  
"You had mates?" Nick joked.  
  
"Yes, Nick. It's only since I got here and had the option of spending time with you, that I decided to become a recluse."  
  
Nick's eyes widened in shock as everyone else broke out in laughter. Sara smiled to him sweetly, and he smiled back, knowing that she was joking, and he had asked for it.  
  
When they had managed to calm down, Catherine nominated Warrick to speak next. After thinking for a moment, his face became serious and he lowered his eyes. "The best day of my life, was the day Gris didn't suspend me."  
  
Understanding that he was referring to after the incident with Holly Gribbs, the others all fell into a reflective silence.  
  
"I deserved to be fired. But, you chose not to. You put your faith in me, and that was when I realised I could get through the gambling, as long as I had you guys."  
  
Catherine looked to Grissom and could tell by the expression on his face that he wasn't sure if he should respond to that, and, if so, how he should respond. He noticed her watching him, and when he looked up, she smiled. It was a smile of reassurance, referring to their earlier conversation, and reiterating her point. And it was a smile of support, and of pride. He returned the smile, indicating that he knew what hers meant, and that she was right, as always.  
  
"I didn't see it as a choice," Grissom said seriously to Warrick, surprising everyone else by responding, including Catherine.  
  
Warrick looked up at his boss and nodded his thanks. Grissom nodded in return.  
  
"Now, I guess it's my turn seeing as Nick's going last," Grissom said, surprising his colleagues further.  
  
Catherine had expected him to make some lame excuse for not participating, and then, when she would have told him of the poorness of his excuse, he would pull rank. She smiled to herself, impressed at this new side of Gil.  
  
"The best day of my life. Hmmm. That would have to be one day, many, many years ago, I hadn't been in Vegas for very long, and I was out driving one night, it was absolutely pouring with rain - the really heavy kind of rain, and it was thundering, and windy, and there were hardly any other cars on this road that I was on, I didn't have a clue where I was, I must have missed a turning somewhere, probably couldn't see the sign. And my car broke down. Completely dead."  
  
Grissom stopped as if that was the end of his story. Nick, Warrick and Sara were frowning in severe confusion at this description. Catherine just smiled.  
  
"Gris, the best day of your life. Not the worst," Nick said.  
  
"That was the best," Grissom said.  
  
"Being stranded in the middle of nowhere in a storm?" Sara asked, puzzled.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Is it one of these 'that's when I discovered that human kindness does exist because some kind soul stopped and helped me' stories?" Warrick queried.  
  
"Kind of, but not really," was Grissom's cryptic response, which Catherine seemed to understand, as her smile widened. But the younger CSIs were so confused that they didn't notice this.  
  
"Okay," Nick drawled, his brow still creased intensely. "My turn then?. The best day of my life," he began, emphasising 'best', "would have to be Christmas, when I was four. I got this really really cu - . cool puppy."  
  
"You're allowed to say to cute, honey," Catherine teased.  
  
"Okay, it was cute. I was four. Sue me. I had wanted a dog for ever, and my parents kept saying I couldn't have one. I was absolutely thrilled. I wore my self out by lunchtime running around the yard with him," Nick laughed as he recalled the memory.  
  
"See! That wasn't so hard was it?" Catherine asked Nick.  
  
"I suppose not. Now, have you thought of your day?" Nick responded.  
  
Catherine hesitated for a second. "It's kinda similar to one that we've already heard."  
  
They all looked round, wondering what she meant. Then Warrick said, "That doesn't matter. Tell us anyway."  
  
For a moment she seemed unsure, then she took a deep breath. "Well, there was this one night I had a huge fight with one of the girls at work - argument fight, not physical fight, before your imaginations go into overdrive. And I stormed out of the club, luckily having thrown on a jacket, because the weather was awful - "  
  
"What is it with you two and awful weather? Do you have some sort of fetish?" Nick asked, aimed at the two senior CSIs, who both just shrugged in response.  
  
"Shall I continue?. Anyway, I just wandered round the streets, letting the rain completely soak my clothes - if you could call them clothes," she winked.  
  
"You could call them very revealing clothes," Grissom suggested, with a smirk.  
  
Catherine grinned. "Thank you. So, I was dancing in the rain, letting it soothe away all my troubles and anger, when I danced around a corner - probably should have been looking where I was going - and literally bumped into this guy, who was also completely soaked from head to toe. I apologised for knocking him over - "  
  
"I thought he knocked you over?" Grissom interrupted.  
  
"Was worth a shot," Catherine smiled. "He apologised for knocking me over, and then complimented me on my. unusual outfit. I explained what had happened, and we walked to the nearest coffee shop and talked until we noticed the rain had subsided - about six hours later."  
  
"So that's how you met Eddie?" Nick asked.  
  
"No!" Catherine answered quickly. "The way I met Ed wasn't half as romantic."  
  
"You think pouring rain is romantic?" Sara asked, sounding a little concerned about Catherine's mental health.  
  
"I soon forgot that it was raining," Catherine smiled.  
  
"How did you meet Eddie then? If you don't mind me asking," Nick asked, intrigued.  
  
"I don't mind at all, Nicky, as long as you answer any questions I have about your life. I met Eddie at the club. He was completely fixated on me the entire night, and afterwards he came to talk to me, and he didn't use any pathetic chat up lines, like most of the guys in there would. It was sweet, I suppose, but not the same."  
  
"So who was the other guy? The best day of your life, presumably because you liked him, and you just let him go?" Sara asked.  
  
"Kind of," Catherine said, smiling, but sadly. "We're still in touch. But the timing wasn't very good."  
  
"And since then, you've never."  
  
Catherine shook her head. "No. We're friends. Best friends, but we've never been more than that."  
  
"Would you want to be?" Grissom asked, suddenly re-joining the conversation that he had been silently observing.  
  
Catherine grinned. "These questions are getting very personal now. Let's do, what's your most embarrassing moment?"  
  
"You're changing the subject?" Grissom asked, surprised, and a little disappointed.  
  
"I started this to learn more about you all, not so you could learn all about me," she smiled, teasingly.  
  
"Just answer one more question," he said, calmly.  
  
"One more. What is it?" she stated, unsure.  
  
"Would you have let me kiss you?"  
  
TBC 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer - see chapter one  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Warrick, Sara and Nick's mouths dropped in astonishment. After quickly looking at each other to see if any of them had seen that coming, they turned to Catherine, who was smiling, thoughtfully.  
  
She looked like she was about to speak when the door to the break room opened and Brass entered, clothed normally, not a biohazard suit in sight.  
  
"You're free to go!" he exclaimed cheerfully as he strode into the room, before stopping shortly when he noticed the silence, and a distinct feeling of anticipation. He looked at the group seated around the table, and realised that none of them had acknowledged him. Something was going on. The doctors had assured him that they should all be fine. Greg's illness wasn't contagious. But they all seemed a little strange to him.  
  
"Hello?" he tried, stepping closer to the table.  
  
"Hey!" Catherine said, standing up. "Is Greg okay?"  
  
"He's gonna be fine just needs a few days rest. What's going on?" he asked, indicating towards the younger CSIs who were all still staring to where Catherine had been sitting.  
  
"Grissom," she stated. "He always amazes them." She turned to smile, teasingly at Grissom, to find that he wasn't there.  
  
"How did he."  
  
"He just left. I was a bit offended actually. Didn't even say hello," Brass explained.  
  
"Probably wants to check on his pets. I hope the lab techs have been feeding them."  
  
"Reports are coming in that they tried to feed each other to them. Confinement seems to send people crazy. You lot had any incidents?"  
  
Catherine thought for a second and smiled, "Nah."  
  
"Good. Now you all need to go get some rest ready for tonight. I'll see you later." With that Brass left the room, taking one last confused glance at the three statues.  
  
"Guys!" Catherine said, waving her hand in front of their faces. "We can go!"  
  
"You didn't answer the question," Nick grumbled.  
  
"What do you think?. Now, come on. We've got to be back for shift, so we need to sleep. At home. In our beds. But first, Sara. Sara."  
  
Sara snapped from her daze and turned to Catherine. "Yeah? Sorry."  
  
"I don't want to lose that bet. Hop to it."  
  
"It's too late, we're free to go. It doesn't count now," Nick gloated.  
  
"That was never stipulated before the bet was made," Catherine grinned.  
  
"'Before we get out of here,'" Nick said slowly and precisely.  
  
"And we're still in here," Catherine mimicked his tone.  
  
Warrick and Nick leapt out of their seats and ran for the door. Nick got through but Sara grabbed Warrick by the arm and pulled him to her, kissing him hard on his lips. Catherine and Nick watched, laughing.  
  
Sara pulled back and looked at Warrick seductively again. "I've always wanted to do that."  
  
Against his own wishes Warrick's cheeks flushed, and he smiled, embarrassed. Sara winked to him victoriously, but was soon blushing herself when Warrick pulled her back and kissed her again.  
  
Catherine and Nick turned to each other, looks of complete shock on both their faces. Neither had expected this.  
  
When Warrick finally let her go, they were both breathless, and a little unsure what to say or do next.  
  
"So who wins that bet then?" Nick said to Catherine as they walked down the corridor, leaving the other two to stand and stare at each other.  
  
"We'll say we're even. I'll see you later," she smiled turning in the direction of Grissom's office.  
  
"Aren't you going home?" Nick smirked.  
  
"I have to sort something out first. And wipe that smirk off your face, Stokes," she called over her shoulder.  
  
Nick laughed to himself. "I think. yes." He laughed again and headed for the parking lot, never before being so glad to see the outside world, or so sad to not still be confined.  
  
***  
  
As she expected, she found Grissom in his office, studying his many bugs.  
  
"Are they well fed? Any clothes fibres, or other evidence? From what I've heard, if there are any lab techs missing, those cages are gonna have to be examined."  
  
Grissom looked up from his tarantula's cage, frowning.  
  
"Confinement seems to send people crazy," she grinned.  
  
"Really?" he smiled. "Who'd have guessed?"  
  
For a moment their eyes met, and both smiles widened at the feeling of being so captivated in the beauty of the blue and white orbs staring back at them. As she felt her heart beat increasing, Catherine thought it was probably a good idea to leave, or else she probably never would. "I'll see you later," she said, still not able to remove her gaze from his though.  
  
"You didn't answer my question," he said walking towards her slowly.  
  
"You ran off before I could," she smiled, internally analysing the way he was walking and the look on his face, and also the topic of conversation. If he'd reintroduced it, he obviously wanted an answer.  
  
"Will you answer it now?" he asked, as the actual destination of his walking became apparent when he closed the door. But she could still analyse that. Why had he closed the door when she had implied that she was leaving?  
  
"I don't remember what it was," she smirked.  
  
Without hesitation, Grissom repeated the question. "Would you have let me kiss you?"  
  
Momentarily shocked by his lack of nerves, in contrast to the butterflies battering round her stomach, Catherine paused for a second then said, "Oh, yeah. I didn't know what you meant."  
  
"I meant 'would you have let me kiss you?' What else could that mean?" Grissom said, amused by how flustered Catherine seemed to be, and how this increased when he stepped towards her.  
  
"I. I . I didn't know whether you meant back then, or. or earlier tonight," she stuttered, kicking herself for reacting so nervously. She was a grown up, she shouldn't be acting like a nervous school girl.  
  
"Well, both. I wanted to kiss you," he replied, a tone of hunger and desire to his voice, as he stepped closer to her again, effectively backing her towards the door.  
  
"Which time?" Catherine asked, trying to regain control of her emotions, at present in turmoil, as Grissom was getting closer and closer, and she knew that soon she wouldn't be able to back away any further.  
  
"Both," he answered simply.  
  
Catherine took a deep breath to try to relieve the lightheaded feeling she was experiencing. "Well why didn't you?"  
  
"Back then, I was scared that you might slap me, and I didn't want to spoil such a wonderful night. Earlier tonight. I was scared that you might slap me," he smiled.  
  
She laughed. "You know me so well. So what about now? Are you gonna kiss me or just hover around my face torturing me like you did before?"  
  
"Torturing you?" Grissom smiled, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Yes. Torturing me. Pressing your body against me, holding me against the door, pretending you were going to kiss me.."  
  
"It wasn't my intention to torture you," he said as he pressed his body as close to hers as was possible. "I thought you would move away."  
  
She inhaled quickly as she was pushed back against the door. His body touched hers as much as it could, one hand rested on her hip and the other trailed lightly down her cheek, then down her neck and across her shoulder.  
  
"But you didn't."  
  
"I knew what you were doing," she sighed as his hand passed a very sensitive spot on her neck.  
  
"Ah. So it wasn't because you want this as much as I do?" he asked as his head moved towards hers, his hand wrapped round the back of her neck, and guiding her towards him.  
  
"On some level, I suppose." she trailed off as his lips reached hers.  
  
"So it would torture you if I stopped here?" he teased.  
  
"Not just me," she smiled confidently.  
  
"True," he said quietly as he gently touched his lips to hers.  
  
THE END 


End file.
